The Vacant Memory
by elusivemuse
Summary: Katie Burgess joined the Jaeger Program young and witnessed all of its changes. As the Resistance forms and begins the hardest fight its ever experienced, Katie joins those who fight the hardest to see the battle through. Raliegh/oc
1. Chapter 1

_Hi, it has been a long time since I last wrote anything for the site. Unfortunately—especially when writing a thesis—reality has a way of forcing a writer's block on those who particularly love writing fiction. My writing is severely out of practice and it will take some time before it is back up to the standard I prefer. _

_Pacific Rim is a perfect reason to get back into the saddle…it's the one movie that has pushed me out of that writers block. So please, review, let me know what I need to focus on and I hope you enjoy my story._

_Cheers,_

_Elusive_

* * *

Chapter One:

Tragedy is always hard to overcome, especially when a person is close to the deceased. It's a physical ache—numb and vicious. Since the arrival of the Kaiju, there was stories of tragedy everywhere.

They were huge beasts, quick and sharp. Scientists argued that they were simply run on instinct, however, many disagreed. The way they hit the cities or anywhere with populace was extraordinary in its terror. It hit fast and it hit hard.

Katie Surgess was fourteen when they first arrived in San Francisco. Her father, a desk jockey for the military, forced her and her mother into one of the bomb bunkers on the base before finding a way to help those who were fighting. While one of the few that survived, Harry had been changed by what he had seen.

With his family close, Harry focused on trying to help those who were coming up with different ways on defeating the giant Kaiju, stumbling across the beginnings of the Jaeger Project. Katie found everything fascinating—her schooling then turned a different route.

The science behind the Jaeger machines were fascinating, especially to a young girl who had been home-schooled all her life. Finding her way into the engineering bay, several of the mechanics began teaching her little things, the basics of how to put a machine together. A lot of it was far beyond her reach, but the basics of it was all she wanted.

There were seven Jaegers being built-in the base where she was with her family. Several set backs with the computer side of things had pilots disappearing left right and centre and by the time Katie was seventeen, the system of the dual pilots began. With the conception of the Drift Protocol, the base was often searching for compatible entries.

Stubborn and at the age where she felt more than a little rebellious, Katie joined the piloting program, her eye set on one of the newer Jaegers, _Gypsy Danger_. The likelihood of her being able to pilot said jaeger was slim to nil. Instead, she found herself paired with a beautiful South-African woman and given a refurbished old Jaeger, _Atlas Sabre_.

* * *

Mosa Paki smirked at her shorter, American friend. "The way you are drooling over the Gypsy is somewhat alarming, my young one."

Katie was so focused at the completion of the Jaeger, she had missed what Mosa had said. "Isn't she a beautie?" she replied, glancing back. "If only we could get a chance to really connect with her—there would be so much that we could do, that I could discover."

"Are you still on about the machines being part of the Drift? You know the top brass thinks you're already bonkers. If we weren't so compatible with one another, I think they would have picked someone else for me."

Sighing, Katie tugged at her long braid before moving her eyes to the _Atlas_. "Is it me, or does _Sabre_ look a little worn down?"

Mosa looked down at her shorter friend before taking in the hull of their Jaeger. While they had only piloted against three_ Kaiju_, _Atlas Sabre_ had gone up against seven _Kaiju_ and three sets of pilots. They were the first dual pilots since the new system had gone in. Time had not been kind to _Atlas Sabre_. While most rents in the metal had been patched and filled in, there were half healed gouges all over the machine. Rust had begun to settle in with its joints and what paint job it had, was long gone.

Yet the scars of battle did nothing to its effectiveness against the giant beasts. He was tough, mean and hardy. Plasma cannons were top notch, checked regularly and maintained at optimum performance, the hull was thick and the physical attacks he could do were vicious and effective. He was a machine that, while not new, was steadfast and well-proven.

"Compared to the new, Sabre is old, but he is tried and proven. Many more fights are definitely in his future," Mosa said in response, her eyes glowing at him. "You are very young, Katie, and impulsive. Once you experience defeat, that cloud will lift from your eyes and you will know how to truly face those beasts and win absolutely."

"We haven't done too bad, Mosa, have we?" Katie frowned, her blue eyes darkening in offense.

"It is not that—" Mosa paused, her brow furrowing as she tried to find the right words…"It is getting harder and harder to defeat these_ Kaiju_, they are learning and we are not. We are simply stuck in the place where we are still winning. Defeat will make us all open our eyes."

Biting a rosy lip, Katie simply turned and continued watching the _Gypsy Danger_, her mind mulling over her friend's words.

* * *

Defeat was sooner than planned.

The heads of the Jaeger program wanted more results, wanted to see if a first strike could place them further ahead in the war against the _Kaiju._ Plans had been made for a first strike against the Pacific Rim Portal. Mosa was cool and calm, her dark skin betraying no sense of fear or dread. Katie however was a bundle of nerves, jittery and shaking as they connected in the Drift.

It was almost serene, being carted over the ocean by helicopter, without any land nearby. A total juxtaposition compared with the events that would soon follow.

The plan was simple.

Blow the shit out of the portal before the next _Kaiju_ arrived.

It didn't work.

The nuke destroyed more than half the number of _Jaegers_ assigned to the mission, leaving eight standing in various states of disrepair. Atlas Sabre was practically defenceless with her electronics down. Mosa and Katie fought hard to regain the systems—then, the worst happened.

_Kaiju_—Classification-3

One of the first Classification 3's to ever surface from the sea.

_Atlas Sabre_ was its first target.

As the beast tore apart the _Jaeger_, Mosa implemented the escape pod system—meant to eject the pilots at the same time. Only, because of the system failure, Katie made it out alive.

The window was clear as the young American was jettisoned out of her _Jaeger_. She could see clearly the death and destruction of the Atlas Sabre, and the final death of the _Kaiju_ at the hands of three _Jaeger_. Mosa was lost, presumed dead.


	2. Chapter 2

_Now I know there isn't all that much in the way of dialogue, but there is a method in my madness. I really hope you all enjoy and please leave a review._

Chapter two

Katie woke up with a jolt.

Startled at her surroundings, she fell off the bed and tangled herself in her wires and fluid lines. Heart pounding, she struggled to breath, chest heaving. Blue eyes darted around, trying to take everything in as quickly as she could. Slowly, she pushed herself against the wall, in between her bed and the monitoring computer.

Taking slower breaths, she looked down at herself, taking stock of her condition. While there was bruising everywhere on her body, her left wrist seemed to be broken, wrapped up in a hard cast. Then there was the trembling that she couldn't shake as she tried to pull her hospital gown closer to her body for warmth.

Far off in her mind, she noted that it was the awareness of being awake after a traumatic event that was causing her to go into shock, but for the life of her, she couldn't find the memory to figure out what was going on.

Nurses rushed into the room, the blaring from the monitoring machine causing said prompt action. Between her shivers, Katie asked several times for Mosa, knowing the dark skinned woman would know exactly what was going on and calm her down. Only, she couldn't hear her voice as she spoke.

After several failed attempts as communication, her father walked into the room, standing a little away from the that she seemed to be involved in. He tried to speak but she couldn't hear a word he said. With a frown, she tried to push the nurses away, trying to stay in eye contact with him. Part of her mind hoped that while she could see his lips, there would be a way to understand what he was saying.

Unknown hands pulled at her arms, trying to force her someplace, but she couldn't seem to understand what was going on. A touch on her side sent a lance of pain throughout her whole body like lightning. With an arch and a cry, the noise that was blocked from her ears rushed in like a tsunami.

Suddenly she can hear shouted orders, her father calling her name and the shrill alert tones from her monitoring machine. However, what had her curious was the low muttering _beneath all the noise_. With wide eyes she realised she was muttering constant words and cries. Listening hard, she realised what she was saying.

_Mosa…Atlas….Kaiju…Mosa…Eject…Eject…Eject…_

A flat lining beep caused even more chaos as she forgot to breath.

_Atlas Sabre_ was no more and she knew exactly what happened to Mosa.

Mosa was dead.

Mosa was dead at the hands of the _Kaiju_.

She had died for Katie…died ejecting her from the Drift and from the _Jaeger_.

Katie remembered screaming for _Atlas_ to eject Mosa before the mouth of the giant beast tore into the half opened helm of the _Jaeger_.

Katie then started screaming.

* * *

Her physical recovery didn't take all that long, only a few weeks, give or take, with the broken wrist. The mental side of things, the trauma of her lost partner was harder to handle. Physiological evaluations were the standard exercise for months after the botched mission. Katie's mind ached for the familiar touch of Mosa—and through the need for said connection; the _Jaeger Project_ discovered the ultimate drawback with the Drift System.

Her mind ached for the connection like a junkie with a crack addiction. Katie was not only jonesing for Mosa, but _Atlas Sabre_ and the connection the three shared. The higher ranked officers tried to connect her to other pilots, beginner pilots who needed the steady touch of an experienced pilot—but found that without Mosa or the _Sabre_, it was even more trying than finding her a partner who was compatible.

It was an issue they never had before, a surviving pilot of a dual Drift System.

After extensive research, they found remnents of the _Sabre's_ drift training system in the data base and found a use for Katie, gifting her with the position of lead trainer for beginners in Drifting. While it wasn't the complete system from her _Jaeger_, it was enough for her brain to settle and leave her with a functioning mind.

During the same time, _Gypsy Danger_ was experiencing severe issues with the Drift system's connectivity to the weapons system and the engineers decided that integrating the system with the left over parts of _Atlas Sabre_ would be a profitable expansion. The _Sabre's_ system had been a tried and true method that held steady against trauma to the _Jaeger_.

The integration of the old system was perfect, and although Katie had applied to be part of the Gypsy Danger, her ranked officers found instead, two new pilots who were well adapted and easily compatible with one another.

Disappointed in the result of her application, Katie applied for a transfer of Jaeger bases and found herself a part of the Hong Kong's Shatterdome team. Again, training new Pilots, Katie was able to bring with her the system that held Atlas Sabre's training simulations and begin research on the connection, not only with the two pilots in the Drift, but the possible sentient connection with the Jaeger itself.

During this time, Gypsy Danger was viciously damaged in her first fight against the Kaiju and her story seemed to back up Katie's research with the Connectivity Theory as her last remaining pilot was able to travel at a distance without the aid of his co-pilot. What concerned her the most, however, was the fact that the left side pilot had still been connected with the right hand side pilot.

The story seemed so similar to her, that when she read the report, it brought back sharp reminders of her time with Mosa and left her with nightmares for the following twelve months. She decided against finding the surviving pilot, and instead continued focusing on her theory. Katie knew that her own trauma had nothing compared to feeling a mind being ripped from the Drift and feeling the death through the connection.


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you so much for the lovely reviews. It makes me proud that I haven't lost as much as I thought in the way of my writing skills…still, there is plenty of work to be done and I'm really enjoying this fiction. As you can tell, this is slowly moving throughout the years of the project, and that Raleigh will be making an appearance in the next few chapters—I'm enjoying the layers that Katie is starting to give me. So please, enjoy this next chapter and let me know what you think._

Chapter Three

"…**Breaking News…Due to the rise of **_**Kaiju**_** attacks on cities and the lessening in effect of the **_**Jaeger Project**_**, teams of scientists has been tasked to find alternate ways to halt the advance of the beasts. Spokesperson, Andrew Fallingsworth reports that the current project they are looking at is a giant wall, spanning the coastlines of all major countries. The width of the wall is said to be impenetrable and the popularity of the idea is steadily rising throughout public opinion. More at six—back to you, Channel Twelve."**

Katie snorted at the TV, her feet propped up on her work bench. "You believe what they're throwing out, Choi?" she asked sceptically as she screwed a bolt into an odd looking part.

Tugging at his suspenders, Tendo Choi frowned, "If that passes,_ Jaeger_ bases will be shut down, left, right and centre…they may even cancel the project all together; money isn't what it used to be."

"It's not that much of a secret that we're losing public opinion. Bad press means no one is investing or believing us anymore." Tapping the handle of the screwdriver against her chin, Katie consulted a napkin with a lot of scribbling before continuing. "Look, the thing with the wall is that it may work the first or second time, but the _Kaiju_ are nothing if not relentless. What this wall project really is, is just a way for the government to hide behind something big and tall while letting the rest of the world go to shit. You know as well as me that the_ Kaiju_ are strategic hunters' hell bent on destroying us. They learned how to fight against our biggest and baddest, become faster and more adapted—they'll do the same with this supposed "Wall of Life" idea."

Choi turned his chair back to his desk, checking the night's system checks. There were only three _Jaegers_ in their base, along with the empty shells of long since broken down ones. There was a lot of history buried in the steel hulls—blood, sweat and tears. It was a damned shame to let the memories of those who had served go to waste. However, he had to be a realist. It wasn't going to be easy reviving the fight for their Project. Too many failed missions with death tolls rising higher and higher. Good news was population control was a thing in the past. "It's gonna be real popular, especially with people who live near the sea."

"They're just sticking their head in the sand," She sneered. "All they are going to see is this giant fantastical wall that they can't see beyond and pretend that there is no real threat as they move on with their lives—when the _Kaiju_ finally break through, they're going to panic and scream and riot and look back on the _Jaeger Program_ as some sort of saviour."

Choi smirked at his friend. "Unfortunately, with the rate we're losing money, we're only going to have a few _Jaeger_ left." _Maelstrom Khan_ and _Osiris Gunner_ were the most recent in the _Jaeger_ death toll. Ferocious machines each, they both fell at the same time at the hands of a particularly nasty _Kaiju_, thankfully killing it in the process. _Nova Kaiser_, a German made _Jaeger_, was the one before it. While the losses of those three impacted their base particularly, more and more machines were falling against the creatures. There just wasn't enough money to keep them all operational.

Sighing, Katie grabbed another bolt and started screwing another piece of metal onto her contraption. "We have so many pieces of _Jaegers_, that if I had the access of those who I needed, I could have at least three operational. We have still more than half of the _Gypsy_ and the _Sabre_—I already drew up the plans to connect them together—then there is _Khan, Nova Kaiser_ and _Osiris_ _Gunner_ we could work with."

"The sheer amount of funding needed to go into the resurrection of them is completely over the top—it's not going to work and you won't get it past Pentecost. All our money is tied into keeping the current working ones going. Not to mention your blueprints are nothing more than doodles on napkins—in fact, I bet there little more than stick figures," he teased, dodging a scrunched up napkin thrown his way.

Katie pouted. "I don't see how it is more expensive than the repairs we're doing now."

"There is also the staff—or lack thereof for anything like that."

Sighing, she planted her foot on the side of her desk and pushed the wheeled chair away from the bench. "A bit over a year ago, my Drift partner once said something that's stuck with me- _they are learning and we are not. We are simply stuck in the place where we are still winning. Defeat will make us all open our eyes."_ She looked at Choi. "I garra-damn-tee you that when that wall goes up and we get cut, the first attack against that wall will make them realise what they've thrown away and what we need to do to win." She tossed the strange metal thing on her bench and wished him goodnight.

It was, after all, late and while there was still money, there was plenty of work to be done.

* * *

It had been a year since she was last a true pilot and the one thing she missed most of all was being connected to something so much bigger than just herself. In a _Jaeger_, she felt as though she controlled her fate, and the fate of those around her—she was responsible for so many lives. In all honesty, it had left her quite humble.

That was something she tried her hardest to instil on her new pilots.

She enjoyed teaching—it was something that made her still feel like she was in the fight. Nevertheless, it was hard for her to tamper the jealousy she felt at other pilots who were able to continue on without their original Drift Partners. Quite often they could be found amongst her classes, trying to find someone else who was compatible to join with.

And there were hundreds and thousands of applicants to choose from—despite how thin their budget was. People still believed in the fight, even though it was harder and harder to defeat the Kaiju. So many citizens argued that the answer was still in the _Jaegers_—it was that they needed to evolve as the _Kaiju_ did. Only it wasn't that easy. Money never did grow on trees.


End file.
